Canon Users: Best Walk Around Lens

[Duess]

Question for Canon Users. I am new to Canon about 6 months ago and I wanted to get some feedback from members here about what they use as their walk around lens.

I have a few photo friends that I go out and shoot with pretty frequently, and I got their opinion, but the more the merrier. I was told the Canon 28-135mm IS lens is perfect for walking around, which I definitely agree with, but what do members here think about that? Bought the 28-135mm recently and have been using it, but is there something out there that people think might be better?

What do you walk around with? Any suggestions are welcome, as long as you could please explain why you like/dislike a particular lens.

Thank You for your help in advance. :thumbup:
-Duess

P.S. I am using a Hoya Polarizer on it as well which makes a huge difference IMHO

 

[Village Idiot]

Mine is either my 17-40 or 24-70. This is on a full frame camera. For a crop, I'd use a 10-20ish or a 17-55ish.

 

[JerrfyLube]

That totally depends on what your budget is but im sure you will get a wide range of opinions...

Tight budget...the 28-135 is tough to beat. Not very wide on a 1.6 crop but enough so for most subjects. The IS works well. Not the sharpest lens out there but again, for the money, its quite good.

More room in your budget...24-70L or 24-105L. I tend to favor the 24-70 because I use the 2.8 a whole lot more than I do the IS of the 24-105. Both extremely versatile but definitely starting to creep up there in the price range.

A more middle of the road approach would be a 17-40L. This was my walk around lens of choice for a long time when using 1.6 crops and gave me countless thousands of beautiful pictures. Wide even on a crop, sharp, versatile. Shines even more when you put it on a FF body. Fantastic lens....kick myself for getting rid of mine.

My normal "go to" setup for casual shooting, street photography, vacations, etc has been the 5D/24-70L combo. Aside from telephoto needs, there isnt much you cant shoot with that setup.

 

[Derrel]

28-300-L series....covers it all.

 

[bentcountershaft]

My 24-70 stays mounted at least 85% of the time but it's in the higher price end. A lens that looks very interesting to me as a good walk around is the ef-s 15-85. It isn't fast but it's a great range on a crop and it's supposed to have very sharp optics. It's priced more middle of the road as well.

 

[oldmacman]

24-105 4L is my most often mounted lens.

 

[Duess]

Excellent suggestions, Thank You!

I did forget to put in some information on what I am working with. Currently, I am using a Canon 40D body and budget, well..... isn't tight.... but it isn't crazy either (Hey, I got two toddler girls, a mortgage and a motorcycle addiction). I would say that spending between $300 - $600 on a lens would be most common range for me. I definitely, definitely, definitely after the holidays am going to be putting cash away and working side jobs to pick up an L lens. I have heard nothing but great things about them, and if people make that big of a deal over them, then I need to experience it.

Not sure if my next lens will be a longer telephoto or a shorter one. I would like to get the 70-300mm lens for those times when I am experimenting with the long shots for sports and things like that, BUT, I hear people talking all the time about how much they use their 17-40mm. I am definitely going to get both, but need to figure out which one would fit my needs sooner than later.

Since L glass makes that much of a difference, I am going to probably concentrate on those models more than others.

Anybody reading this thread have experience with third-party manufacturers? (ex: Tamron/Sigma/etc...) I do not want to stray from Canon lenses, but if there are good quality ones out there, some might be worth to add to my collection to have a nice assortment.

Thanks again for the responses, appreciate it a ton.

Duess

 

[memento]

17-55 stays on my camera 80% of the time. i used the 28-135 for about a year and found it to be too long. (mean while i was saving for the 17-55)
with your budget, i'd strongly consider the 17-85.
that paired with a 430ex flash will be an awesome combo for birthday party's and holidays/ vacations and what not..

 

[Duess]

with your budget, i'd strongly consider the 17-85.
that paired with a 430ex flash will be an awesome combo for birthday party's and holidays/ vacations and what not..

Sweet!!! Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely keep that on top of my list. Birthday Party's, Holidays, Vacations, etc... is a huge shooting time for me with the kids and the family.

 

[Greasy]

I have the 17-85 on my T1i and I really like it. Stays on... 100% of the time.

You can get it used for a great price if you are considering that.

 

[Mathazzar]

Another vote for the 17-85, for what it's worth. I was recently in a similar predicament as you where I was in the market for a good all-around walkabout lens and the 17-85 ended up winning out — given my limited budget. Great price + IS + excellent sharpness (again, for the price) = sweet deal.

If money weren't an obstacle, I would almost certainly choose the 24-105mm L lens. I own a 70-200L and it is a true beauty, so having similar image quality in a more compact and portable lens would be ideal.

In any event, check out this roundup if you haven't already; there are some great suggestions!

Canon General Purpose Lens Recommendations

Best of luck — let us know what you end up with.

 

[white]

Clearly the bazooka lens in my signature is the ultimate walk-around lens.

 

[Dao]

Clearly the bazooka lens in my signature is the ultimate walk-around lens.

You really think you can walk with that lens?

 

[Mathazzar]

You just need a team of porters (or a donkey) and a committee of zoomers and focus operators.

 

[j-dogg]

Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 VC

Quite possibly the BEST walkaround lens that doesn't cost as much as a week in Fiji.

I have one on my Rebel it is an AMAZING lens nothing that costs 500 dollars can touch it as a walkaround.

The only dislikes is zoom walk (not creep, zoom walk) from 28-230mm and minor amounts of chromatic aberration above 210mm. The AF hunts in low light or shots without a lot of definition and a lot of distance (skies) or depth. The vibration reduction is RIDICULOUSLY effective especially if you have shot non-IS telephoto zooms your whole life.

This is a sample image, hit twice with a sharpen in old Photoshop 6.0, imagine what it could do on more modern processing software.

This shot, albeit a crop, is on the same lens. The train is still a 1/3 mile away in this shot

Buy one you will not be disappointed! I'm releasing a review on it in about a week or so.